Benefits Information
Provided below is general information about benefits for the VSIP at Wichita State University for eligible tenured faculty. If you have questions about benefits related to this program, please contact VSIP2026@wichita.edu.
Mandatory Retirement Plan - Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) 403(b) Plan Participants
Mandatory Retirement Plan - KPERS Plan Participants
Voluntary Retirement Plan Participants
Health Care Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
MetLife Voluntary Insurance Plans
Additional Information about WSU Retirement Benefits
Mandatory Retirement Plan – Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) 403(b) Plan Participants
Participants in KBOR mandatory retirement plan may contact their Retirement Plan Representative to request income illustrations which will show distribution options and estimated retirement dollars or to schedule an individual retirement consultation. Currently, income you receive from your KBOR tax sheltered 403(b) retirement contracts will be subject to Federal income tax but will not be subject to Kansas state income tax. This State of Kansas income tax exemption is subject to change at any time by legislative action.
To contact a TIAA retirement plan representative, you may utilize the online scheduling tool at TIAA Consultation Scheduling or call 800.732.8353 Monday-Friday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm (ET). You can also reach out to the TIAA campus retirement plan representative listed below with questions:
Justin Pierce - Justin.Pierce@tiaa.org
To contact a Voya retirement plan representative, you may utilize the online scheduling tool for your specific representative listed below:
Dan Wetta or Leo Wetta Schedule an Appointment
Steve Cross or Jonathan Cross Schedule an Appointment
Mandatory Retirement Plan – KPERS Plan Participants
Participants in KPERS may contact KPERS at 888.275.5737, 8 am -4 pm Monday-Friday for more information on their KPERS benefits. For assistance in completing and submitting the KPERS retirement application email VSIP2026@wichita.edu.
You can access KPERS retirement plan materials at the links below:
KPERS 3 Retirement Benefits Guide
KPERS 1 & 2 and KP&F Retirement Application
KPERS 3 Retirement Application
Voluntary Retirement Plan Participants
If you participate in the KBOR voluntary 403(b) plan and/or the State of Kansas Deferred Compensation 457 plan, please contact your Retirement Plan Representative to request income illustrations which will show distribution options and estimated retirement dollars. Currently, income you receive from your KBOR tax sheltered 403(b) retirement contracts will be subject to Federal income tax but will not be subject to Kansas state income tax. This State of Kansas income tax exemption is subject to change at any time by legislative action.
To contact a TIAA retirement plan representative, you may utilize the online scheduling tool at TIAA Consultation Scheduling or call 800.732.8353 Monday-Friday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm (ET). You can also reach out to the TIAA campus retirement plan representative listed below with questions:
Justin Pierce - Justin.Pierce@tiaa.org
To contact a Voya retirement plan representative, you may utilize the online scheduling tool for your specific representative listed below:
Dan Wetta or Leo Wetta Schedule an Appointment
Steve Cross or Jonathan Cross Schedule an Appointment
To contact a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan representative, you may call 800.232.0024 or e-mail questions to kpers457@kspers.org.
Can I direct the lump sum and/or my leave payouts into a tax-deferred retirement plan?
You can elect to direct some of your sick and/or vacation leave payout into a voluntary retirement plan. The VSIP lump sum incentive payment amount will not be included in the calculation of mandatory retirement contributions and will not be included to calculate the maximum deferral for voluntary retirement plan contributions. While the incentive payment is not eligible for deferral into a mandatory or voluntary plan, you may defer the leave payout. You may contact VSIP2026@wichita.edu to receive information about the maximum amount you can defer into the KBOR voluntary 403(b) retirement plan and/or the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. Deferral requests must be received by Friday, May 22, 2026.
Health Insurance
VSIP program participants of any age (and their covered dependents) can continue coverage under the State of Kansas group health insurance plan (SEHP). With a 6/20/2026 separation, your active employee health insurance coverage will end on 6/30/2026. If you are approved to participate in the VSIP you may choose to elect coverage under either COBRA or the state's retiree health plan, whichever is applicable, to be effective 7/1/2026. Calendar year 2026 health insurance information for Retirees/Direct Bill and COBRA is provided below. You can reach out to the State Employee Health Plan Direct Bill Call Center at 866.541.7100 or email SEHPDirectBill@ks.gov with questions about the Retiree/Direct Bill Plans.
COBRA
VSIP program participants and/or covered dependents who are under age 65 can enroll in COBRA continuation coverage for a maximum of 18 months or until age 65, whichever occurs first. COBRA coverage is the same coverage available to active employees, but the participant pays the entire premium. For more information, see the SEHP calendar year 2026 COBRA brochure here. If you are not yet age 65 when the 18 months of COBRA coverage ends, you will be able to then elect coverage under the SEHP Direct Bill portion of the State of Kansas retiree health plan until you reach age 65. For more information, see the SEHP calendar year 2026 retiree brochure here.
Medicare Eligibility
VSIP program participants and/or covered dependents who are age 65 or older will need to enroll in Medicare Parts A and/or B to be effective 7/1/2026. HR Total Rewards can provide the retiree with a form (CMS-L564) to provide to the Social Security Office to enroll in Medicare Part B without penalty. Medicare-eligible retirees and/or covered dependents will have additional health plan coverage options including plans designed to coordinate specifically with Medicare Parts A and B. For more information, see the SEHP calendar year 2026 retiree brochure here. The HR Total Rewards staff are not able to provide counseling related to Medicare and/or Medicare supplement plans. Retirees and/or covered dependents are encouraged to contact Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK), a free program offering Kansans an opportunity to talk with trained, community volunteers to get answers to questions about Medicare and other insurance issues.
In order to enroll in a SEHP retiree health plan, you must have continuous coverage from active employment into retirement; you cannot drop the SEHP health insurance plan at retirement and rejoin it later.
Additional information about Medicare
Medicare & You booklet for 2026: 2026 Medicare & You
Sedgwick County residents who are or will soon be Medicare eligible will contact Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas (SHICK) for assistance understanding Medicare and their options.
Health Care Flexible Spending Account and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
If you contributed to a Health Care and/or Dependent Care FSA in 2026 and you separate employment in 2026, you will have 90 days after the FSA contributions end or your separation date to submit claims for expenses that were incurred prior to the last day of employment.
Health Savings Account (HSA)
If you enrolled in a Health Savings Account, the funds in that account are yours to keep. If you are Medicare-eligible, are currently contributing to a Health Savings Account and you will be retiring in 2026, SEHP will need to be notified as quickly as possible as your HSA contributions will need to be directed to a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) effective six months prior to your Medicare effective date of 7/1/2026 to avoid tax liabilities on those contributions. If you have questions, please contact VSIP2026@wichita.edu.
Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
If you received HRA contributions in 2026, you have 60 days after your separation date to submit manual claims for expenses incurred in the plan year.
MetLife Voluntary Insurance Plans
If you are enrolled in MetLife Voluntary Insurance plans you will be able to continue that coverage in retirement by reaching out to MetLife directly at 1-800-438-6388.
Group Life Insurance Coverage
The Standard Basic and Optional Group Life Insurance
While actively employed, the University pays for life insurance coverage equal to 150% of your annual salary, and that coverage ends on your separation date. If you purchased additional optional group life coverage, that coverage ends at the end of the month in which you separate employment. When you separate, you can elect to continue life insurance coverage by returning a completed election form with payment to the insurance company within 60 days from your separation date.
Portable group term life insurance coverage is available if you are under age 80. Portable coverage means that the coverage becomes an individual term life insurance policy. Additional information can be found here: The Standard Group Life Portability Insurance Application.
Conversion coverage is available regardless of your age. Conversion coverage means that the coverage becomes an individual whole life insurance policy. There is no age limit, no reduction of coverage based on age, and no minimum amount required. For additional information, refer to The Standard Group Life Conversion Packet.
To continue optional group life insurance coverage for your spouse and/or dependent children, additional information can be found here The Standard Group Life Portability Insurance Application.
WSU’s optional Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) policy through The Standard does not have a continuation option.
Leave Payouts
To view your sick leave or vacation leave balances please log-in to Employee Self-Service on myWSU. You will receive a payout for your accrued leave based on the following eligibility criteria:
Sick Leave
If you meet Retirement Eligibility, Sick leave will be paid, based upon years of service and accumulation as follows:
Years of Service with State of Kansas |
Minimum Balance Sick Leave Hours |
Hours Paid |
|
8 or more years |
800 |
240 |
|
15 or more years |
1,000 |
360 |
|
25 or more years |
1,200 |
480 |
Examples
If you have 15 years of service and 1,300 hours accumulated, you will be paid for 360 hours
If you have 25 years of service and 900 hours accumulated, you will be paid for 240 hours.
Vacation Leave - Faculty in 12-month positions and Staff
If you meet Retirement Eligibility, a maximum of 240 hours of vacation leave will be paid upon retirement. If you do not meet Retirement Eligibility, a maximum of 176 hours of vacation leave will be paid upon separation.
Discretionary Day
The Discretionary Day may be used prior to separation date, but is not paid out if unused.
Additional Information about WSU Retirement Benefits
For information about benefits WSU provides to retirees (e.g., WSU email address, WSU Library, Heskett Center access), please see Retirement Perks.
VSIP participants are eligible for emeritus status as long as they meet the qualifications outlined in WSU Policy 3.27 / Emeritus Status. Emeritus status is not automatically granted and must be initiated and recommended by the employee’s department and/or senior leader for review.
When retiring from Wichita State University, you want to make sure you understand the retirement plan rules relating to any return to service. In addition to the 12-month wait period for VSIP participants to be able to return to service at WSU, KPERS and KBOR both have rules for returning to service or working after retirement that may apply to any KBOR or KPERS agency. You can find additional information on Working After Retirement.
Who to Contact
VSIP Team
VSIP2026@wichita.edu
Published: 2/25/2026 NH